Fading Between Worlds
by Nakamura Ishimaru
Summary: The war is won, but in the aftermath of the final battle, Sasuke is caught between two worlds. The present is fading away, and the presence of the past pulls him in deeper and deeper, tearing him from a future he wishes to live. But, is the past pulling him away, or is he walking towards where he truly belongs? Oneshot. Sasuke-centric. No pairings. OOC depends on how you view 'em


**_Oh, looky! I've finally managed to write another Naruto oneshot! Yay! =D Well, I haven't been in this fandom for over a year really, but I have kept myself updated on the manga. I can't say I've grown out of favoring Sasuke in writing, but I do think that I've managed to improve my writing a bit…I think…I hope… Anyway, so, uhm…YEAH!...I've started writing this about six months ago, but only managed to finish now, really. I was a new freshman with a dorm at a distant college for the past five months, so I didn't have much time to continue this without it messing with my sched xD Ah, whatever! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it._**

**_Warnings: Possibly OOC for some of the characters, especially Sasuke, depending on how you view him. Spoilers for recent manga chapters, or rather, it might be hard to understand without knowing the current events in the Naruto universe. Attempt at writing double universe things…yeah, that's all…I think._**

**_DISCLAIMER: Like I said, I'm a new freshman in college…I don't even own enough money to buy one legit Naruto mangga volume, how the heck would I be able to own the most widely known, best selling, heart wrenching, mind blowing anime/mangga/franchise on this planet? In other words, I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. I respect that but shall continue to be slightly envious._**

* * *

_White clouds. Blue sky. When he opened his eyes, these that were the first to meet Sasuke's eyes. He felt confusion as to where he was, and what he was doing. He tried to think back as to what had happened before, but his memory was foggy._

* * *

Crimson Blood. Everything in Ruins. Sasuke couldn't see them at the moment, but he knew they were there. It was hard to tell though, because all he could feel at the moment was pain. Excruciating pain. And exhaustion. He had numerous cuts and bruises, probably more than a couple cracked ribs. He was pretty sure that his left shoulder was dislocated and his left leg felt numb. He was wondering how he could still stand…

…Until he realized, that he wasn't standing anymore. He felt rocky soil beneath him, and somehow, he found it hard to breath. He suddenly wondered why there was a tightening feeling in his chest, then he figured out the answer.

He sorta wished he didn't.

* * *

_Sasuke realized that he was lying down on the grass, in the sun. He sat up and looked at his surroundings. He seemed to be in some kind of field, in front of him a wooden pole and some shuriken beside him. 'I must've fallen asleep after taking a break from training' he thought. _

_He tried to remember what time he started training, but he just couldn't recall. He found it weird that he could barely remember anything. _

_For some reason, he felt that he should start heading home. He picked up the few shuriken beside him and placed them in a small pouch he had. It entered his mind that he couldn't feel any added weight, but he decided not to think much about it. Dusting off his long sleeved black shirt and white shorts, he stood up._

_"What a strange dream…" he wondered aloud._

* * *

Sasuke tried to focus his eyes on the image in front of him. He could blurrily see that something – no, someone – was above him. Said person was shaking him over and over, and he placed a weak hand on the person's arm to show that he wanted the action to stop. He tried to form words, but found that he couldn't.

"No no no no no..." the person in front of him said over and over. Sasuke was thinking the same thing. He inched his hand to his chest and felt something warm and wet. Lifting it in front a little, he could make out his scarlet hand.

Not good.

"This wasn't suppose to happen! This is wrong, all so wrong. Why, why…" The person above him yelled. Sasuke could make out a ruffle of blonde hair wearing some tattered black and orange garment.

"Na..Naru…Naruto."

* * *

_Sasuke kept wondering exactly where he was, and why it was so familiar. He knew he hadn't trained there, at least not since…he couldn't remember. _

_But he couldn't shake the feeling that he _knew _the place. And he knew the way he was going, too. _

_"How strange" he said again. He found it odd that there were so little people that he saw. Most, he didn't really know. But that didn't matter to him._

_Somehow, he just wanted to get home._

* * *

Sasuke saw another person join Naruto above him, someone who was placing their hands on his wounds, and he felt chakra there. A female with pink hair. Behind the girl was another man, standing this time, but looking down at him. He focused on to the man's right eye, seeing its red pupil. It looked familiar…he searched his memory for their names.

"Sakura…Kakashi…" he mouthed, for there seemed to be no sound. However, it seemed that they still understood. Sakura started sobbing silently, and Kakashi knelt down towards him. Kakashi turned to the blonde, and asked "What happened?"

Sasuke tried to remember what happened, and realized he barely did. A small part of his brain wondered why his memory was failing him. He felt like he was going in and out of what was around him, but it felt different from passing out. He felt…restrained.

Naruto's eyes seemed shinier than usual, but he answered in a wavering voice. "We…we combined our jutsus…Rasengan and Chidori…we launched them at…at Tobi…and he went down so we thought it was over…bu-but-but…" his voice cracked.

* * *

_Sasuke had left the training grounds and was now passing through various shops and stalls in the market. _

_Or rather, what was supposed to be the market. It wasn't its usual crowded self, and it seemed only a few stalls were open. He started wondering why his surroundings weren't the same. He knew that, when something was wrong, it usually was. But, for some reason, he didn't feel alarmed._

_In fact, he felt calm. He felt serene. Somehow, he preferred it this way. Quiet and peaceful. The only chatter he heard was of adults sharing stories or distant laughter of children._

_"Hey, kid. Are you feeling lost?" Someone asked him. Sasuke turned to look at the man in the stall. He seemed to be selling books, though they were all similar in appearance. On the front of each was a title, but for some reason, he couldn't make out the words. _

_Looking at the man himself, he had long, scruffy, white hair and some kind of red lines running down his eyes. His appearance looked sort of weird and scary a bit for Sasuke, but he wasn't bothered at all. The man seemed familiar. Although his voice was grave and serious, the way he looked at Sasuke made him feel that they knew each other._

_"Um, no, sir. I'm just taking a different way home." Sasuke answered politely. _

_A small frog hopped onto the table the man was leaning on "Ah, I see. Well, you don't have to worry. This way is safe. Just don't get lost, alright, Sasuke?" He said, smiling. Sasuke wondered how the man knew his name, but he felt that he was worthy of trust and respect._

_"'kay, sir. Thank you." Sasuke said with a polite nod and continued walking._

* * *

"But then, Tobi caught us of guard…and he…he…" Naruto could not finish the sentence, Sasuke knew. All that the blonde did was gesture to Sasuke's chest, where blood was seeping. Sasuke faintly remembered what happened.

He and Naruto thought the battle was over and won. Kyuubi had receeded and Naruto, who was lying on the ground, closed his eyes from the exhaustion, a content smile on his lips. A few meters away, Sasuke had his hands on his knees, panting. He too, closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them, the shock that he felt lasted less than a mili-second. Tobi was standing, yet he was silent. And he was making his way towards Naruto, who was facing the other way, a sword in his hand.

Sasuke's kusanagi sword, of all blades.

With such little chakra left, Sasuke had ran towards the man and engaged him in close combat. He dodged several shuriken that flew his way, but turned when he heard Naruto yelp. Fearing that his ally might've been hurt, he turned to him, and saw that he was standing up, though a shuriken had hit him in the stomach.

The next thing Sasuke felt was a searing pain in his chest, his own sword pushed from his back and out of his chest. Tobi whispered something in his ear, but Sasuke used his remaining chakra to send lightning through the sword, and shocked his attacker.

He yelled at Naruto to do something, since the boy was staring in shock at what unfolded in front of him. His vision was getting blurry and when the sword was slowly (and painfully) drawn from his body and he didn't feel his body hit the ground.

"Naruto…" Sasuke said, though it was barely audible. He forced his eyes to focus on his former teammate. "Did you…did you.." he coughed up blood.

"I…I got him, Sasuke. Your Chidori Nagashi paralyzed him, and I put a kunai through his chest." Naruto said.

"Its over now, Sasuke." Kakashi said quietly. Above him, Sakura removed her hands and covered her face with them, shaking her head slowly.

Sasuke gave a sad smile at that. "Good…so am I."

* * *

_Sasuke made his way through the village, passing by buildings, houses, eateries…until he noticed that there were some things off about his surroundings. _

_Like there was some kind of field at one particular area where there wasn't to his knowledge, One building that used to look like a wreck now seemed newly built, and what he remembered to be a small stream was a flowing river. _

_He idly wondered whether he was in Konoha or not. But something made him certain that he was, despite some differences. As he continued walking, his pace gradually quickened. So much so that he was running. Something told him that he had to get to his house, as if some invisible force was pushing him forward. _

_However, he rounded a corner too fast and hit someone and fell._

_"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Sasuke said, as he tried to get up. _

_"It's okay." a hand was above him, reaching out to help him stand. He took the hand, stood up, and turned to thank his helper. _

_"Ah..thank you! I'm sorry for bumping into you." He said. The boy in front of him looked to be around his age, with long brown hair and pupil-less, grayish-white eyes. He smiled warmly at Sasuke._

_"No problem, though I didn't expect to see you here, Sasuke. What gives?" The boy asked casually._

_"Uhm…" Sasuke could not name the person, but he saw flashes of him...the two of them talking, seeing him with others of their age…almost as if he knew him once before. "I'm sorry, but I can't-"_

_"Oh! I see, you've just arrived…though I don't think you're quite here yet…" The boy said. He gave Sasuke a gentle smile. _

_"Neji! Time to go." A voiced called from the distance. A man who looked exactly like the boy was waiting a few meters away._

_"Just a minute, father." Neji called, then turned back to Sasuke "Well, it's been nice seeing you again, despite the circumstances. We should get together some time. See you later." He said with a wave then walked away._

_"Bye, Neji." Sasuke called. He turned around, and started running again. This time, towards his home. He could hear faint voices, though he didn't know whether it was inside his head or in the wind. They were calling him. Over and over, they kept chanting. Telling him to come home._

_"Its time, Sasuke, its time…Sasuke…Sasuke…"_

* * *

"Sasuke! Sasuke! Open your eyes, Sasuke!" yelled Naruto. Sasuke blinked several times to focus on his teammate.

"No time, Naruto…my time's up." He said. Naruto turned away and slammed his fists on the ground.

"Sakura…" Sasuke whispered. The kunoichi removed her hands from her face and held his hand. "Sakura…thank you for…for everything. And…I'm sorry…for everything."

"Sasuke…" She sobbed. "I…I never…I never wanted this to happen."

"I know." Sasuke answered. What else could he have said to make it better?

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sasuke knew it was the first – and last – time he would address Kakashi with the honorific. "You're the closest thing I had…to a father…I'm sorry for…for letting you down."

Kakashi could not stop the tears forming at the corner of his eyes. "Sasuke…I was only sad that you had lost your way. But you found it back again, and I couldn't be happier…if only…" Kakashi shut his eyes, unable to contain his emotions.

"You're…you are not to blame…for this…sensei…" Sasuke replied. He looked to the last person on his team. He who refused to acknowledge the scene in front of him. Sasuke forced his hand to grip the blonde's wrist, forcing him to pay attention.

"Naruto…"

* * *

_"Sasuke…" The voices called again, and they were getting louder as he ran. "Time to come home, Sasuke." They were quiet, like wind blowing through his ears. But they were many, and each was different. All, so familiar. _

_Sasuke kept running. Structures zipped by him, banners, trees. He gave them no heed. 'I need to get home' he kept repeating to himself._

_Soon, he came to the entrance of the Uchiha Clan compound. He stopped just outside, and studied the the scene in front of him._

_The banners and flags with the Uchiha symbol were clear and clean, and they kept blowing in the wind. The street inside was clean too, and various plants grew from small gardens and pots here and there._

_"Sasuke!" A voice called. He looked to his left to see a familiar old man and woman there, smiling and waving at him. When he neared them, the old woman gave him a fierce hug._

_"Its so good to see you again, Sasuke." She said. The man gave him a grin and ruffled his hair. _

_"Auntie, Uncle…" he said slowly, as if he was trying how to recall saying such words. _

_"We've been waiting for you, Sasuke. We all have." his uncle said, and he gestured to their surroundings. Sure enough, Sasuke saw that everyone in sight was smiling at him, some even waving. He felt himself blush, and tried to hide it with the hair framing his face._

_"But I don't think we should keep him waiting, dear." His auntie told his uncle. _

_"you're right, dear. Now, off you go, Sasuke. There's somewhere else you need to be." His uncle said with a chuckle. _

_Sasuke nodded slowly, a smile playing on his face. He turned and ran again. And this time, he didn't need the voices to know where he was going._

* * *

"Why!? Just tell me!" Naruto snapped, anger and hurt evident in his voice.

"Why…do you think…dumbass…?" Sasuke tried to glare at his teammate. "the same reason…as before…" He swallowed, trying to get moisture into his throat. "Look, Naruto…"

"What, jerk?" Naruto snapped back.

"You…you can't let this – " He tried to gesture at their broken surroundings "- happen again…ever...as Hokage…" The blonde's eyes widened "…pro…protect…them…" Sasuke coughed out more blood. Speaking was getting harder and harder for him. "Please…your dream…don...don't – "

" – let it die. I won't, Sasuke." Naruto finished. The memory of those words, spoken by the raven years ago on a mist covered bridge, also on the verge of death, broke whatever bravado the blonde had, and his tears fell to the blood coated ground.

"You've…you've been my brother…you still are…Thank you. I'm sorry, too…" Sasuke began to say. Naruto shook his head, trying to force a smile.

"It's okay, Sasuke. I get it. It's okay." Naruto stopped him from speaking. He knew that every word his friend – no, _brother_ – spoke could be his last. There was so much for them to say, so much for them to share, but he could not allow Sasuke to waste any more of his energy.

Sasuke was trying his best to keep focus, to cling to whatever he could to the world of this comrades, but his vision kept fading, as if he was being pulled away. There was so much more he wanted to do, to say, to make up for…he didn't want to lose that chance.

"Please.." Sasuke tried to say. "Tell everyone..I'm sorry…for all that I did…and can't do…please…" Sasuke went on, his own tears finally forming and threatening to fall. All the pain, regret, anger, guilt, betrayal, sorrow and misery he felt his entire life all came crashing back to him.

"I will, Sasuke. We understand. We…We'll never forget you." Naruto replied in his own broken voice, feeling all the emotions Sasuke did. Sasuke closed his eyes, but squeezed Naruto's wrist, almost as if he was afraid to let go. He was. He had abandoned his team once of his free will, now that he didn't want to, he was being torn away.

"Go on, Sasuke." Kakashi said, kneeling down to his student, his _favorite_ student, one last time.

"Don't hold back for us." Sakura sobbed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"We'll see each other again, okay? We…we love you, Sasuke." Naruto choked out, still feeling Sasuke's tight grip on his wrist.

"…live on…"

On those two words, the grip on Naruto's wrist released, and Sasuke's hand fell across his unmoving chest as his final breath was released. The last Uchiha was gone, finally letting go of his second family. Three pairs of eyes cried tears of sadness for what once was, what could've been, and what never will be.

* * *

_Arriving in a matter of minutes, Sasuke took a moment to stare at his home. It stood tall and proud, as if the ghosts that lived within its walls never existed. Sliding open the door, he removed his sandals and placed them neatly in one corner. The voices that had been calling him came from within the house, and, although they seemed numerous when he first took notice, it now seemed much fewer and more familiar, and was getting so loud, it practically yelled, as if its presence was getting stronger._

_Realization dawned on him suddenly, and he jerked to a halt in his movements. The voices calling him…he knew them. He knew them deep down into the very center of his heart, his soul. They were long forgotten, but now seemed as clear as day to his ears._

_"Sasuke, dear. Where are you?" cried a woman's voice, soft and light. _

_Sasuke broke into a run, searching for the source of those words. He searched for a little time, until he realized that they weren't coming from within the house, but behind it. Probably from the lake at the back, where he would train, once upon a time._

_He ran to the steps leading out to the back to catch a glimpse whether he was correct. The sight before him made him jerk to a halt. There, at the docks where he would sit sad and alone, was his family. His mother, smiling and waving at him, his father, expression blank but eyes gentle and warm, and lastly, standing in front of them, his brother, a soft smile on his face, his arms outstretched to receive him._

_"Sasuke, dear, you're finally here."_

_"There's my boy."_

_"Well, little brother? Aren't you going to give your family a hug?"_

_Tears stung at his eyes, but Sasuke's entire body shot forward, a smile on his face. He ran as fast as he could and launched himself into his brother's arms when he was near, not caring that it caused the both of them to tumble to the ground._

_"Mom, Dad! Brother! You're here, you're here…" He murmured into his brother's shirt as he felt his family envelope him in an embrace. "I…I thought I'd never see you again…"_

_"No, __you're__ here, little brother." Itachi soothed "And none of us are leaving ever again."_

_For the first time in a long time, Sasuke laughed. He laughed a real laugh of happiness and relief. He was reunited with his family after such a long time. A pair of eyes cried tears of joy, while three pairs of arms embraced him with all the love they could give. The last Uchiha had finally come home and they were a family once again._

THE END

* * *

**_So! What do you think? I'd love to hear from anyone whose willing to read this…I'd like to avoid receiving flames, but if that's how you roll…then FINE! xD But seriously, thanks for reading! Review if you wanna ^_^_**


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